Peach
by namiangelus
Summary: A decision Shifu makes leads young Tai Lung to believe he isn't loved. Cute father-son oneshot. R&R, but no flames please.


Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda. If I did it wouldn't be a good movie, it would be me in an improvised panda costume, on a recording of horrible quality, making not funny jokes... and that's why you should be glad I do NOT own it.

Peach

The sun had set and the sky swam with stars. There was a gentle breeze swaying the trees. The night air was warm and inviting. In the midst of the scenery a small cub and his master walked side by side. The cub bounced along jabbering away and flailing his arms about in excitement. He would talk in small spirts of words filled with joy. His master could do nothing but laugh lightly and nod in agreement at every ecstatic remark.

"Did I really do that great?" Tai Lung had finally stopped for a breath.

"Of course. I did not lie to you. What you showed me was so amazing, you will certainly be able to learn Kung Fu and have talent too." Shifu smiled and gave him a pat on the head. They were approaching the living quarters.

Tai Lung's heart was swelled with pride in himself. He felt so special. He felt so important. ' _If my stupid parents could see me now!_ He thought. _I'll bet they would wish they never left me. They probably would beg at my feet to be my parents again.' He concluded._

"Tai Lung?" Shifu's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Yes master?" He stopped in his tracks. No longer was he laughing or talking with so much emphasis. His voice seemed a bit nervous in response to Shifu's odd expression. Something was different in the tone of his master's voice. It was something he had never heard.

"I must speak with you." Shifu said.

"Yeah?"

"You are getting older. Today you showed me you are more mature than I give you credit for."

"Mature?" Tai Lung questioned. He tried to piece together what he thought it meant but the ideas kept getting scrambled.

"It means you are not a little child anymore. You are very able to take care of yourself in more ways then I thought you could." Shifu attempted to read Tai Lung's face to see if he understood, but in failing to do so, he added, "When a peach isn't tiny anymore, it falls from the tree because it can be on its own." He spoke the words in his more fatherly tone.

"Oh, so I'm a big peach now?"

"Yes. A big peach." Shifu laughed a little at his own analogy. '_I'm turning into such a softy'_ Shifu thought wearily.

"Thank you."

Shifu's mind returned to what he first intended to say. With a deep breath he expelled the words that he hoped would go over well.

"So I think you no longer need to sleep in my room."

_ 'Why? Ever since I was found, I have been sleeping in Shifu's room_' Tai Lung thought It was so nice having someone who cared so close. It assured him of that caring. Was Shifu trying to distance them. Did Shifu want to be his father anymore?

"Why?" Asked Tai Lung with deep despair and a hint of uneasiness in his voice. The response came out absentmindedly. He looked down at his feet.

"I told you why. You are getting older, much more mature. To expel your talents in Kung Fu and acquire the skill essential," Shifu paused to rethink his statement as Tai Lung twisted his face in confusion, "If you want to be a master in Kung Fu, you have to start being able to watch out for yourself just a little more."

"But can't I still sleep near you?"

"No, if you're unable to sleep without my presence then I do not think you are capable- you are not going to be able to learn any more Kung Fu. Now, come along." Shifu walked into the hall, with Tai Lung following slowly at his side. They walked to an empty room where he pushed the door open gently. "This will be your room." He left the room to retrieve Tai Lung's matt, pillow, and blanket.

Tai Lung stood in the center of the room. It seemed empty, cold, and a little intimidating. He searched the walls and all the corners with his eyes. He really didn't want his own room.

"Here is your matt." Shifu had entered again and arranged the matt, pillow and blanket in the center of the room. He turned away to give the room a look over himself, even though he had one almost identical to it. "Tomorrow you can do what you like with it. But not now, _now_ it is time for bed." Shifu was trying desperately to cheer Tai Lung up since his adopted son's expression was a cross between anger and sadness.

_'Am I making the wrong choice? Look at him.' _Shifu pondered. _'He does seem very uncomfortable with this idea, but children have to grow up. Good parents have to do these things too. As his guardian it is my obligation to give him a little push towards the future.'_

Shifu was torn from his thoughts by Tai Lung's depressed voice.

"Okay, Master." He grumbled under his breath.

Reluctantly, Tai Lung crawled beneath the blanket. He rolled onto his side and muttered, "goodnight master." in a cold tone. He kept considering maybe giving his input but he didn't want to loose his right to learn Kung Fu. Not wanting to be anymore of an annoyance, Tai Lung tried to ignore the thought. His feelings returned to frustration and anger towards Shifu.

"Goodnight Tai Lung." Shifu stared at the small form. He could feel the resentment so he just left without another word. He wanted to at least tuck his adopted son in but Tai Lung had to face the consequences of bitterness. _'I'm sure he'll faze over this quickly. He'll see being alone isn't all that bad.'_

The room became quiet. Minutes passed slowly but surely.

_'He didn't even want to tuck me in.' _Tai Lung curled up into a little ball with his knees tight against his chest and his tail wrapped inside of it all, like a makeshift stuffed animal. _'I'm alone. My own room. A room without anyone else. This is grownup, this makes me a big peach, this is what you have to do to be great at Kung Fu. You can't have anyone.' _

Tai Lung lay there for a half hour. In that time, nothing changed. He felt alone as ever and the room seemed more intimidating than before. It was swallowing all his courage, leaving him as a small lost cub. Just a orphan, alone, forgotten and broken. He pulled the top of the blanket down so he could see the dark void that was supposedly his new room. He closed his eyes in hopes that when they reopened Shifu would be in the room, providing ease with his loving presence.

Tai Lung's heart was beginning to sink. Solitude was filling him. He was feeling abandon, just as his parents had done to him. All the shadows had become evil creatures. They made him fearful to stay. Tai Lung wanted to run from the room. He had tears in his eyes. He wanted to dash to Shifu but then he wasn't sure what would happen. Would he be denied training, get a lecture, be ban from the Jade Palace forever.

He sat up, jerking the tears from brimming his eyes so they slid down his furry cheeks. He brought his paws up over his eyes. The whole world was staring him down, making his heart race with fear. Every breath was cold so Tai Lung took short ones. He crawled from the matt and collapsed on the wooden floor near the door, where he watched the world in a blur of salty loneliness.

He was curled up again, weeping, shaking, terrified, hopeless, and torn from everything merciful. He lay there with the blanket covering him as he mumbled to himself, "don't be scared, you'll be fine. You don't need him." None of these phrases provided ease so, without really thinking about it, he shattered.

"Master?" He whispered. "Master?" He said a little louder as a few more tears fell to the floor boards. He thought Shifu had very keen hearing, but in this time, when he needed him the most, his hearing appeared to be like anyone else's. "Ma-Mas-," He covered his face with his paws harshly and, with a tearful, raspy, and heartbreaking voice he yelled, "Daddy!?" Tai Lung didn't care if he was going to regret it. He didn't care what happened next as long as Shifu came.

"Tai Lung?" The cub heard quick footsteps pattering down the hall, then a frantic voice above him. "Son, what is wrong?" He sat up and uncovered his eyes. There were still tears running down his cheeks. "Are you alright?" Shifu reached for him.

"I'm sorry master! I'm so sorry..." He hid his face. "I didn't mean- I wanted to be brave."

"Son, calm down." Shifu extended his arms again, then placed them, to the best of his abilities, around Tai Lung. He could just hardly do this action but even so, his adopted son felt safe.

"I wanted to be brave." Tai Lung repeated, with many gasps between words. "I really tried. I wanted to be good at Kung Fu. I wanted to listen to you. I'm sorry!"

"Don't cry. I'm here with you." Shifu soothed. Immediately following his voice Tai Lung hushed to just sniffling. "I'm right here, shh..."

After a few minutes had passed Shifu decided to find the source of the problem. "Now, what's bothering you?" Tai Lung was still curled up against him with his face hidden.

"You- you wanna leave m-me." Tai Lung's muffled voice answered.

"Tai Lung, no. I would never-"

"My parents left me! They hated me! I must be so bad! That's why they left! That's why they didn't want me! Isn't it? Isn't it Shifu?!" Tai Lung's voice was not coming out with power; instead it was squeaking, making it sound pitiful. He tightened his hold as he felt Shifu tense up.

"Maybe they did, but listen to me," Shifu spoke in such a gentle tone. His words were warm. "I _will not_." He closed his eyes and repeated, "I will not." He felt the cub in his arms relaxing but not letting up on his grip. "Just because I want you to have your own room doesn't mean I don't want you around anymore. Understand?"

Tai Lung nodded softly.

"I wanted to help you move forward. I thought that's what you would want too. I thought it would benefit you more in the future, a future you couldn't see yet." Shifu didn't bother translating the sentence, since he knew Tai Lung wasn't really listening to the reasoning. All Tai Lung was doing was just absorbing the comforting sound of his 'father's' voice.

"I do want to be good at Kung Fu but now I can't. I'm not big enough to be alone. I can't learn Kung Fu. You said so." Tai Lung sat up and looked sullenly at the floorboards.

"I think you can."

Tai Lung peered up puzzled.

"I bet you can spend the whole night here. And just to make sure you do not cheat, I am going to sit here all night and watch." Shifu smiled lightly.

First Tai Lung continued to look confused but then the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile as well. He curled up against Shifu again. He felt a hand brush across his cheeks; wiping away some of the tears.

"Goodnight mas- da-mast-" Tai Lung's voice dropped to almost nonexistent, "-daddy."

"Goodnight son." Shifu smiled absentmindedly.

The world was silent again. However, the silence was warm. Tai Lung wasn't afraid anymore. He knew Shifu wasn't going to leave him. He would always have his adopted father around to care, to watch out for him, to be there when he needed it the most. Only one thought still troubled him.

"Master?"

"Yes?"

"Even though I got scared, am I still a big peach?"

Shifu laughed again. "Yes son, you are still a big peach."

Shifu sat below the peach tree. Tai Lung was gone, vanquished, and he had nurtured another peach to be ripe. Everything was right. He had finally found the peace he was looking for but as Shifu brought his gaze up to the fruit his mind returned to that time so long ago. He focused on one peach and as he did a small voice echoed through the wind. "Am I still a big peach?" Shifu looked at the sky.

He may have lost Tai Lung physically and before that to corruption, but in a memory there would always be the same little cub who cried about being abandon and smiled in admiration at all Shifu's actions. As he remembered that little cub curled up next to him, he smiled in that fatherly way and spoke in a correlating tone, praying that his words would somehow reach Tai Lung. "Yes son, you are still a big peach."

A/N: There I wrote it. Since I saw the movie I've had this idea in my head. Then I wrote it and had a lot of difficulties getting it to sound right. But I did it! So I hope you liked it. I really like the peach and Po parallel in Kung Fu Panda so I sort of stole it and applied it to my own creation. Please review! That would be cool of you. Thanks.


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